The Twins “have checked in on” Justin Upton now that the veteran outfielder has hit the open market, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link). The Angels designated Upton for assignment last week and then released him after he cleared DFA waivers.
Should Minnesota or any other team sign Upton, they would only owe him a prorated minimum salary. The Angels are still responsible for the remainder of the $28MM owed to Upton for the 2022 season (minus that minimum salary). As such, it isn’t surprising that Upton sailed through the waiver wire without a claim, as any club claiming Upton would’ve absorbed that entire salary.
This isn’t to say that Upton didn’t receive some looks while in DFA limbo, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that two “small-market, non-contending teams” were in touch with the Angels about potential trades. It isn’t known how far along trade talks actually got between Los Angeles and these two mystery clubs, but it was a moot point, since Upton used his full no-trade protection to reject the possibility of going to either team.
This sets up an interesting guessing game about what teams might have asked about an Upton trade. Nightengale’s description could include such teams as the rebuilding Pirates and Orioles, or perhaps teams like the Reds or Athletics who spent the offseason cutting payroll, if not going into full overhaul mode. The Diamondbacks (Upton’s initial team) could also perhaps fit, though the D’Backs did make some modest moves to improve themselves for 2022.
As to what could have been offered in an Upton trade, an interested team could have looked to acquire Upton and a chunk of his salary if the Angels had included a notable prospect to sweeten the pot. Or, perhaps a team was looking to unload another undesirable contract in exchange, either in pure salary dump fashion, or maybe this other big-mooney player might have provided some help to the Angels’ roster.
For a Twins team that had two left-handed hitters (Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff) in corner outfield positions, the right-handed hitting Upton could be a nice veteran complement. Upton has been a replacement-level player over the last three seasons, but could benefit from a part-time role, as most of his struggles over the last two seasons have come against right-handed pitching.
All AL West players are required to play in Minnesota for at least one season. Correa, Upton, Donaldson, etc…
Arte gives out some crazy contracts. Will Judge be next? He likes him his big stars.
well it’s judge so it might be worth it
Judge making $36M is certainly justifiable in today’s game as he puts up 5 WAR seasons when he only plays in 110 games, and 6-8 WAR when healthier. The issue won’t be the next few years with Judge. It will be in years 5 or so forward. Moreno loves to push payments outward, hence Upton making $28M this year. Pujols made $30M last season at 41, his highest singly season salary. Rendon is going to make $36M this year and $38M the next four years. WTF? I mean, he’s a good player, but I never really looked at his contract payout schedule until now. I can almost see now why Judge is asking for $36M a year.
Angels need to really think before signing any big money contracts as Ohtani hasn’t been paid yet and a long term big money deal for Judge along with Trout and Rendon will hamper the Angels ability to sign him long term
If Arte give that type of money out, it will be on Ohtani, not Judge. Judge is by far the Yankees best player. The Yankees never let their best player go. It is crazy to hear that they tried to low ball him. Offering him less per year than Stanton is laughable. I see the Yankees offering him more eventually unless he gets hurt. If the Yankee wont pay him, the Mets will.
Upton deserves to go to a contender. The Twins and Cleveland will be playing for 4th play in that division.
Rays? Brewers? White Sox? Giants?
I’d say Marlins. He’s at a price they like and could be of trade value if he has a decent first half.
Hahahahaha
…he said “contender”.
Not the Giants. There’s no one on the 40 man that they’d prefer Upton over, and there’s better players in AAA for depth.
Why does HE deserve that over any other player in the league?
@hiflew
He doesn’t. He may be a good fit for an expansion team though…like the Raleigh Reapers or the Memphis Hounds.
He may not ‘deserve’ it but he does have the rights to reject a trade to a non-competitive club. Now that he’s a free agent, he can choose his destination, provided of course that a contending club has interest in him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the Padres or even the Dodgers. I could see him turning things around as a part-time player in LA.
He isn’t tradebale he is a FA
I seriously doubt he goes to the Dodgers. They have a full 40 man, with 3 guys expected back this season on the 60 day IL. The Dodgers like positional flexibility, and Upton doesn’t provide much of that.
tad, I agree with everything you said. Alas, I basically said the same thing last year regarding Pujols.
Angels & NL West:
You got me there. I also said the same thing about Pujols.
I stand by what I said about Upton in general terms, but, there probably is a team out there that is a fit. I just don’t think any team with depth on their 40 man, is willing to risk losing a player trying to make room.
yeah cause the tigers and royals are such good teams. lol
Upton deserves to go to a contender as much as i I deserve a second chance with my ex wife.
You deserve better than that IQ.
What did William Munny say to Little Bill? “Deserves got nothing to do with it.”
Best Clint Eastwood movie ever.
He deserves nothing
What makes him more “deserve” it more than anyone else?
Based on what?
Yeah barley batting over .200 the Yankees and Dodgers should be all over him. Then stash him on the bench as 5th Outfielder so no one has watch him struggle at the plate anymore. Just so he can play with a “contender”.
He will be in a tiger uniform by the end of the week
No he won’t. Do you realize the Tigers have enough outfielders and are hoping for Riley to come back ready to go? Where would Upton play?
Wouldn’t surprise me if Orioles inquired. It might make sense for them–if he actually hits well, a very cheap trade chip, and if he’s just league-average, maybe lets them keep a prospect down a little longer to give them more control.
Trouble is he hasn’t been league average for the last 3 years.
The Angels are playing Jose Rojas in the outfield, he can’t field, run, or hit off-speed pitches.
I have no idea what that team is doing.
They also hit Matt Duffy as their cleanup hitter vs a lefty starter. A spot that would have been ideal for Upton.
Bob- Rendon should have been playing today. They baby these guys. 4 games in and you’re resting him against a division rival????
We lost the first series and all Angel fans are hitting the panic button already., I am not ready to hit the button yet. I was hoping we would at least get a split with the Astros, but alas, that didn’t happen. We lost 3 of 4 to arguably the best team in the AL. I would say we were at least competitive and had a chance to win 3 of the 4. It will only get easier from here.
I haven’t been on board with all the moves. I don’t understand the late move to LF for Adell, though he did make a good play today. I was OK with Rojas starting yesterday in the OF with Adell being 0-5 with 5 strikeouts. I am not sure why they needed to start him today. It is like they want him to take the Ward role while he is out.
All teams are sitting out players. Yes, we sat out Rendon and Marsh, but the Astros sat out Altuve and Brantley. It is not something unique to the Angels. A lot of teams are doing this. The season is long and you need to keep your stars fresh and give your bench at bats.
I have been pleased with the defense other then Adell’s mishaps. The starting pitching has been good this far. Ohtani and Thor pitched great.. Thor was impressive in those 5 innings. Only allowing 2 hits, a meek jam shot to CF by Tucker and a diving stop by Duffy that McCormick beat out by diving to first. It was good to see. What hasn’t been good is our top of the order. Ohtani, Trout, and Rendon have not been hitting. I am not too concerned. Overall, the BAs are down across baseball. I assume the hitters will be in better form in a couple of weeks. The bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball so far. Still small sample size, but something to keep an eye on. I was expecting big improvement from the bullpen this year. Not yet, but they did look great in the Syndergaard game.
To be fair, they have a Second Baseman playing Shortstop, a Third Baseman playing Second Base, and a Pitcher Designated Hitting. Somehow Maddon is lauded as a genius…
Is it Maddon’s fault they have a utility infielder playing Shortstop or is it the GMs fault. Is it Maddon’s fault they don’t have a lead-off hitter and are missing a middle of the order bat or the GMs.
I think Marsh will be leading off in a month. Adell will be hitting sixth and Rojas will be in the minor leagues. But Maddon has to give them a chance to earn the chance.
And that pitcher hit close to 50 home runs last year.
Maddon doesn’t make the roster
Why not lol? Going to cost what,$600K?
It’s not a terrible move to sign Upton. Certainly he isn’t the player he once was, but he’s worth a try at league minimum. Does anyone know if the money from the team that signs him is guaranteed? If the Twins sign him for league minimum, $600,000 or whatever, do they have to pay him all that money if he does poorly and gets released? Or do they owe him just the portion of that salary for the time he is with the team? I know the Angels have to pay the bulk of the $28 million in his contract.
The money is guaranteed. The Twins pay him the prorated minimum salary, and being less than a week in, will be close to the full value. They’re on the hook for the money if they release him, but only if another team doesn’t sign him. If another team did, they would then owe him the prorated minimum. So if the Twins released him and another team signed him at the half way point, each would owe him around $300K.
I disagree about it not being a terrible move. It would be for at least some clubs. The Giants for instance, have better players, younger, and under team control, on their 40 man roster. It would be a terrible idea to lose one of them, on waivers, making room for Upton..
when you cant make baltimore, its about time to jump off a building
So which building have you chosen?
If they sign him and call up Lewis they’ll have 3 number one overall picks and a number two pick on their team. Crazy.
Can any team sign him? Or does he pick the team he goes to? Wondering why the sucky old A’s wouldn’t sign him for the min. Then hope he does well and unload him at the deadline?
He picks where he goes now. Any team can sign him but needs to want to go to that team.
I suspect Upton will just retire one year earlier.
White Sox: We are considering Justin Up…
Twins: Twins are considering Justin Upton!
Upton has historically expressed an interest in playing near his Arizona home. I wonder if he is attempting to stay on the West Coast or is expanding his geographic preference to increase his suitors.
I’d rather take a shot on Upton for min salary than Zimmer or Tapia.
Btw listening to the game in car with my daughter , tapia up to bat , I say this guy stinks , she says why ? Just then Wagner ( play by play guy ) says “ taps one out to second base “. I say see. That’s all he does. That’s why they named him Tapia. Taps the ball to second base all the time ! We had a good chuckle. Glad baseball is back.
And no offence Angel fans , love the angels , wish trout and ohtani had it better.
But in my fifty plus years watching baseball , nice guy , everyone loves him, Players , media but gotta be one of the worst managers I’ve ever seen. Ask cubbies and rays fans lol
Upton is an interest possibility for a team needing a DH but let’s remember that his OPS+ over the last three years is 90
The twins need pitching more, but I’ll take it.
As an Angels fan, I hope an AL West teams signs Upton.
Twins already have Cave and Arraez for outfiled fill- ins–but if Upton still has a good bat it would be ok.